When the Constituent Assembly in the 1940s was discussing their vision for an independent nation, two women members, Hansa Mehta and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, advocated that Indians should have the fundamental right to marry a partner of their choice.
Though this proposal was not adopted, it conveyed the values that they hoped the new republic would embody.
Seventy five years since, however, several states have passed laws that act to limit interfaith marriages under the guise of scrutinising religious conversions. These laws are underpinned by the Hindutva conspiracy theory that Muslim men are waging a “love jihad” to court Hindu women and force them to convert to Islam.
How did love beyond conventional social boundaries come to be seen as a revolutionary act? And what is the personal experience of families that have been formed by people who have interfaith relationships?
These are some of the issues under the spotlight in the latest episode of State of the Republic.
It features author and peace worker Harsh Mander in discussion with Natasha Badhwar, author, filmmaker, teacher and mentor of Karwan e Mohabbat; Asif Iqbal, co-founder of Dhanak, an organisation that works for the safety and legal rights for individuals facing violence from their families; and Sadaf Chaudhary, a member of India Love Project that provides support to individuals in interfaith relationships.
The name of Karwan e Mohabbat’s Yeh Daag Daag Ujala series is a tribute to the iconic poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
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